This week, DC-based Drinker Biddle & Reath partner Jesse Witten received the National Congress of American Indians Special Recognition Award for his work on the "Washington Redskins" trademark case.
Jesse and other Drinker Biddle lawyers have worked pro bono on Blackhorse v. Pro-Football, representing five Native American individuals seeking to cancel the DC football team's trademark registrations. In 2014, they convinced the USPTO's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to cancel the Redskins' trademark registrations because they disparage Native Americans. When the team appealed, Drinker Biddle prevailed in US District Court last July. The football team has appealed to the Fourth Circuit. The case should be heard later this year.
Jesse's photographed with NCAI president Brian Cladoosby at the organization's Annual Leadership Awards ceremony. Founded in 1944, the NCAI is the country's oldest American Indian and Alaska Native organization.
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